Redemption
by Ollen70
Summary: Death peak holds infinite possibilities. For one with his eyes on the past, and one with her eyes on the future, who knows what could happen? Set during The Time Egg.
1. The Wanderer

Chrono Trigger and the characters contained therein do not belong to me. They are the property of the 'Squaresoft' company.  
  
Ollen70: This story takes place after Crono meets his doom in the Ocean Palace, directly following 'The New King,' and just before 'The Time Egg.' This is based as closely on the game as I could make it, and still tell the story that I had in mind. First chapter is 'G', but the ratings might get higher as it progresses, depending on the reviews I get. (If I get any...)  
  
Magus: Not likely...  
  
Ollen70: Hey! Who asked you?!  
  
Magus: Don't have an embolism...   
  
Ollen70: I've revamped some of the dialogue in this section, once I realized that in places it doesn't really keep with Magus's character.  
  
Redemption  
Chapter One -- The Wanderer  
  
  
Seven days...it seemed more like seven years since the disaster had reduced the once-beautiful floating island of Zeal to a ruin at the bottom of the sea. It had taken the Maker seven days to build the world out of nothing, and in one terrible moment, a part of that world was reduced once again to that state. Seven days wasnÕt enough time to dull the pain of what had been lost, even if it had been but one life that she was tied to. Everything was different now...  
Lucca sat dejectedly in the room at the inn, wondering how fate had led her here. One week ago, her best friend was destroyed before her very eyes, taking with him all hope the world might have had of some sort of salvation. After a white-knuckled battle with Dalton, the traitorous advisor to the Queen of Zeal, the remaining companions had managed to escape in the timeship Epoch after sending Dalton to his doom.   
ÒWhat a miserable day..Ó she said quietly, glancing out the window at the snowy haze that obscured everything. The Epoch had carried them safely to the middle ages, but there it had stalled. Lucca, with the assistance of Robo, had spent the last few days turning it inside out, trying to discover the nature of the problems. It was her suspicion that somehow Dalton had crossed some wires when he gave the Epoch the ability to fly, causing it to short out when it formed a temporal warp. Fortunately it had done so after theyÕd landed in the 600Õs, not while they were still in the strange fiery void that existed between eras.  
After the narrow escape, all of the party thought it wise to rest for a few days to regain their strength. All except Marle, though her objections hadnÕt surprised anyone. Ayla, Glenn, and Robo had come using the time key, having seen all of the events that took place through the pillars of light in the end of time.   
Lucca was personally glad of the reprieve, hoping to have some time to collect herself and deal with the grief that had been put off for far too long. There might still be some hope that his soul might be retrieved, but she knew better than to place all her trust in what might yet prove to be a dead-end in more ways than one.   
ÒHmmph.Ó Came the half-hearted response from the cloaked figure in the corner. ÒEverything in this era is miserable.Ó  
How Magus, the nemesis of the middle ages had come to join their party, Lucca wasnÕt quite sure. Something about the way sheÕd found him, alone and pitiable in his loneliness on the Northern Cape had melted her heart enough to accept his offer to come along, though the more time she spent with him, the more she wondered if that had been wise.  
ÒI wouldnÕt expect any other response from you.Ó She said brightly, not trying to upset him more. ÒYouÕve spend more time here than any of us, except maybe Glenn.Ó  
ÒI've been here longer,Ó He replied bleakly, Òever since the Undersea Palace was destroyed. I was but a child then, and Glenn," he said the name with a certain amount of distaste, " was not yet born then. You forget.Ó his voice was now wholly different, tinged with some emotion she couldnÕt place. ÒI remained here for a great many years, attempting to summon Lavos again. And I have seen my homeland decimated by him twice now.Ó  
ÔOnce was more than enough for me,Õ Lucca thought. ÒIn another few days Epoch will be up and running again, and weÕll be back on the search. I just need a few more parts from Banta, and..Ó  
ÒWhy?Ó Magus asked, finally rising from his seat on the floor. His gaze was downcast, as it always was, but his voice still carried the strange undercurrent that unsettled her all the more.  
ÒWhat do you mean, Ôwhy?ÕÓ She felt her own voice rising, colored with annoyance and maybe a little anger. ÒWhat else can we do? You yourself said the only way to save Crono was to find the Guru of Time. What was his name again? Geste.. Gorier..Ó  
ÒGaspar. And no one has seen him for years. I doubt if we should succeed, when by all rights he might have died when the Ocean Palace was destroyed.Ó  
ÒWe have no choice! And since when are you so eager to talk about your past again? We almost had to drag it out of you last time.Ó Lucca snapped waspishly, finally losing her temper with the haughty ex-prince. ÒIf thereÕs any way to get Crono back, I think itÕs worth the risk. Marle would certainly agree.Ó  
ÒAnd it is for that reason that I bring this matter to you, and not to Marle. She loves that witless fool, for all the good it will bring her. But I had meant to speak with you about this before long...Ó  
Almost hesitantly, Lucca turned away from the window to face him.  
ÒWhat do you mean?Ó  
ÒYouÕre sensible enough. DonÕt tell me the thought hadnÕt already occurred to you.Ó Magus ran his finger idly up the length of his scythe blade, leaving a slight trail of red that turned LuccaÕs stomach. Once again, his voice became innocuous.ÒLavos eradicated your little hero in a moment. Do you think a better fate waits for him if we manage to bring him back into the world? Is there a better fate for any of us? Give in to the inevitable and live your lives to the best of your ability, feeble as they may be, instead of dwelling on what might have been. Unimaginable is the power of Lavos..Ó  
ÒNo more!Ó Lucca shot at him hotly, stopping what she knew to be a familiar speech. ÒYou and your constant doom! Why we keep you with us, I'll never know. Does it make you feel productive to find flaws in everything? Your life must be easy, if all you ever aspire to is to feel sorry for yourself, selfish jerk!" The rage inside of her made her flush. "How do you justify chasing after Schala, even waging your private war for Ten years? You think we're too weak to succeed? Look who's talking! Stay here and pretend you aren't sulking, if it makes you feel better. IÕll be back in awhile!Ó   
With that she stormed off, slamming the door behind her. After a mug of cider downstairs, she felt a little more like herself again, though what sheÕd heard still echoed uncomfortably in her mind. Magus was partly right - the thought had indeed come to her before, except that until now she had been able to dismiss it with little or no trouble. MarleÕs inexorable optimism was infectious at times, keeping reality at bay while they made plans for the Ôfuture.Õ  
Getting Magus back into the Inn hadnÕt been an easy task. Most of the villagers, however, had been far enough removed from the front lines of the war that they didnÕt know the notorious wizard by sight, but Lucca made sure everyone referred to him as Janus, lest anyone grow suspicious. Though Magus hadnÕt appeared on the front lines during the war, there was still the odd chance one of the soldiers might have caught a glimpse of him.  
It was for that reason that they had chosen to stay in the inn rather than the guest rooms they certainly would have been offered in Guardia Castle, had they ventured there. Glenn, wishing to speak with Queen Leene, had taken Ayla and Marle some time ago, and the three of them had braved the snow for some warm soup in the castle kitchens and the company of the Queen.   
Lucca didnÕt know if they planned to return that night, but it didnÕt bother her much, either way. Marle was unaccustomed to inns. It would probably help her cope to spend a night or two in the fashion she was familiar with. If they were lucky, it might help the young princess admit to a certain amount of grief, and so help the others recover a bit more normally as well. But then, what was normal about knowing there might be a way to keep your best friend from sacrificing his life for you?  
After her third cider, Lucca wandered toward the door of the inn to peer out into the cold. With still no word from the blacksmith, she decided against going out to the Epoch. After all, until she got the parts she needed, there wasnÕt much she could do, aside from feel sorry for herself. If she wanted to do that, she could go back to the room and commiserate with Magus.  
ÔThat isnÕt entirely fair.Õ A small voice told her. ÔLook at all heÕs been through. Would you have survived as much?Õ Glad that it wasnÕt something she was forced to consider, she took another long pull at her mug before turning back to the warmth and the rabble that dominated the room.  
  
Two hours later, with still no sign of Glenn, Ayla, or Marle, Lucca deserted her post on the bar stool and headed back up the stairs. Not exactly sure she wanted to deal more with Magus, she hesitated a moment before pushing open the door before her. She could have sworn she heard voices a fraction of a second earlier, but now all was quiet. Robo crouched in the corner where Magus had been before, switched off for the night. That was okay, as she wasnÕt looking for idle conversation. Magus had given her more than enough to ponder. Whether his words before had born out of frustration or whether he had meant what he had said, she didnÕt care to speculate.   
'What do I say to him?' Lucca thought, her eyes on the door where Magus was, bathing and changing out of his tattered garments. She couldn't pull her eyes away, the thought of him, vulnerable and human like everyone else was a strange and fascinating one. 'Should I apologize for what happened earlier? No, he'd think I was weak...Wait a minute, why would I care what he thinks?!' With that she strode to the door and banged loudly, not noticing until it was too late that the door had no latch and the force of her fist had caused it to swing inward.  
"What? What are you...?" All too briefly, Lucca caught a glance of the great Magus, garbed only from the waist down, his cloak and tunic hung to dry. For a moment she only ogled him helplessly, ashamed, but not enough so to turn away. A flash came from his fingertips, and he pulled on his tunic immediately.  
'Of course.' She thought as she retreated. 'He has fire magic too.' Darting out and back down into the pub, she decided the best course of action was to wait him out. He had to sleep sometime, and if she was quiet when she approached him, maybe he wouldn't blast her.  
  
When she deemed she'd waited long enough, no longer able to keep her weariness at bay, she crept back up the stairs, ignoring the odd look she elicited from the nearby serving girl as she did.   
There was only one bed in the room. That came as no real surprise. Why should anything be easy? Magus lay on one side, taking up very little room. He was on top of the covers, still shrouded staunchly in his cloak, crimson chest wrap, and vest, looking obstinate even in his sleep. With a shrug and a sigh, she made to take her place in the opposite corner before she became aware of the chill wind that swept through the space under the window, free to swirl around her as she lay beneath it. Moving slowly to the bed, which for some inane reason caused the floorboards to squeak all the more loudly, she pulled back the quilts on the other side of the bed. After removing her hat and boots, she crept in and covered herself snugly, hoping she hadnÕt disturbed her odd roommate.  
Checking to be sure, she found herself watching him longer than sheÕd intended. Awake, Magus was a force to be reckoned with. His eyes were nearly always dark and brooding, cast at the ground rather than at anyoneÕs face. Asleep, she was astonished at what a different story his body told. Gracefully he curled, his muscles rippling slightly under the folds of cloth as he moved ever so little, adjusting unconsciously to the presence of another nearby. He seemed almost...delicate...  
Lucca rolled over very suddenly, appalled at the thoughts she had been in the process of forming. Why would she have any interest in Magus? Especially after all that had happened? Now was not the time to be forming fantasies over a man that was born 11,990 years before she was. She couldnÕt understand him, much less love him...  
ÔWith Crono gone, how can I feel anything ever again?Õ Magus was her means of salvation, nothing more. Once Crono was restored, they would part ways, and she and her friends would do what they could to overcome Lavos once and for all. Again, the voice in her mind muttered quietly. ÔWhat if he was right? Are you willing to watch Crono die again?Õ  
  
The night was long. Lucca woke feeling discouraged by dreams and thoughts that were far too transient. No memories remained, save that whatever the dreams were, they hadnÕt been pleasant. Stretching elegantly and rolling to one side, she discovered that the bed was empty. Aside from Robo, still in ÔoffÕ mode on the floor, so was the room. MagusÕs scythe was propped up against the wall, but its presence failed to reassure her. Magus was as magical as they came, with enough power to eliminate just about anything in his path. Her concerns were more for any who happened to cross him than they were for the mage himself. She rose cautiously, as the lamps were all out and the sun was still several hours from dawning.   
Making her way downstairs rather miraculously, she pushed open the door and peered out into the swirling white, wishing she hadnÕt left her glasses on the nightstand in the room. Even with them, she doubted if she would have seen much more. What looked like a set of footprints, filling fast with falling snow, wound away west from the front stoop of the inn. Where ever Magus had gone, there was little chance that she could follow him. For a moment she considered activating Robo and using him to help her in the search, then thought better of it. There must have been a reason that Magus had sought solitude, and though she did not know him well, it seemed wise to let him keep to himself if he wished.  
  
For a little more than an hour Magus had trudged through the snow, oblivious of the wind-driven drifts that swirled around his knees like waves on the ocean. The room was too stifling, too...human.. for him, and his dreams had been all too real, more memorable than many real occasions in his life. Whatever the cost, he needed to be purified, free from the pain that plagued him more now than ever before.   
Up ahead lay what he sought, secluded from the rest of Guardia by a skeletal stand of trees, barely visible through the mist and snow. The building they concealed was lit from within, probably from no more than perhaps one solitary candle, but that was enough to make it inviting. Over the last few months that he had masqueraded in Zeal as a prophet, he had grown used to the comfort and luxury available to all of the Enlightened Ones. The snow was confounding in its contrast.  
Inside the dim building, he approached a high alter that lay before rows of oaken pews. A bright stained glass window bearing an angel with spread wings sparkled down on him from above.   
ÒWhat can I do for you, dear boy?Ó A stern, but not unkind voice asked from the nearby pipe organ. A nun, dressed in the customary white barb and purple habit rose and strode toward him, eyes bright.  
Magus drew back almost fearfully as the little woman approached. ÒI...I...Ó He wasnÕt sure why he had come. This cathedral was once a corrupt place. Under the direction of the monster called Ozzie, the cathedral had been turned from its purpose to serve as the final resting place for Queen Leene of Guardia. A statue of him might still be standing in a back room for all he knew, but he didnÕt care to be reminded of those days. He wasnÕt ÔMagusÕ in that sense anymore. The events in Zeal had changed him, though whether for good or ill he could not say.  
ÒAre you alright?Ó  
ÒYes, thank you.Ó He found his tongue hastily, almost choking on the words in his haste to get them out. ÒI just...wondered if I might stay for awhile.Ó  
ÒOf course.Ó She said, in the dubious tone of one who knows better. He was relieved when she proved tactful enough to say nothing. Struggling to make sense of himself, his thoughts drifted steadily back to the room the night before.  
ÒAre you certain you are not troubled, Magus?Ó Robo had asked him, appearing as concerned as was possible, given that he was made of metal.  
ÔNo.Õ He would have liked to have said. Instead, he lied. ÒIÕm fine.Ó The robot did not need to know his concerns. He kept his voice and manner as flat as always, more for the sake of personal composure than to keep up a front.  
ÒCronoÕs disappearanceÓ (Here Magus noted that the robot did not say ÔdeathÕ) Òhas been hard on us all. In time, we will all recover. I'm certain Marle and Glenn will be much better once Crono has returned.Ó  
ÒHmmph.Ó With that, Robo had deactivated himself. That was just as well. The robot made Magus uneasy, for one reason or another, and idle reassurance wasn't something he welcomed. It hadnÕt been a meaningful conversation, from an outsiderÕs point of view, but the few words that were spoken had given Magus much to think about.  
ÔTime heals all things.Õ He thought ironically. ÔIf only that were so. But time is not as benign or benevolent as these fools believe it to be. Blind hope will cost them more than they can afford to pay. But they wonÕt ever see that, and I will certainly never be the one to show it to them.Õ  
Realizing he had been foolish to come to this place, Magus turned to leave when the nun spoke, her voice echoing through the apse of the cathedral ephemerally.  
"My child, it is apparent that much troubles you, though you conceal it. But know this; in our world, every storm has its end. Every night...brings new morning. What's important is to trust the ones that you love, and to never lose faith ."  
'God forbid I should ever be so led astray. Loved ones fail more often than strangers, and the pain is greater.' Images of Schala filled his mind, and he saw her once more, trapped within the ornamented walls of the doomed Ocean Palace, worried more about his fate -even though she didn't know that he was her brother - than she was over her own. She was the only member of his family that he might have been able to save, and she had slipped through his fingers like the sand slips through an hourglass...  
'Her child' indeed. in his mind he sneered. What right had she to call him that, thinking that it might endear her to him? His own mother had been more than willing to doom his blessed sister for her own immortality. But then, that was the way with humans, always more concerned with their own petty losses and gains than for anyone or anything else.  
'Time destroys all things.' He thought bitterly before nodding a farewell to the woman and stepping back out into the snow.  
  
Ollen70: Hey, what do you know? One whole chapter, and I haven't been overwhelmed by my own sappiness yet. Oh well, give it time. 


	2. The Builder

Ollen70: Hey, what do you know? One whole chapter, and I haven't been overwhelmed by my own sappiness yet. Oh well, give it time.  
  
As always, Crono Trigger doesn't belong to me. Magus, Ayla, Crono, Marle, Lucca, Frog, Robo, Leene, Gasper, Melchior, Belthasar, Banta, and Schala are not original characters, as anyone who's reading this probably already knows. That said, Please review this when you finish. It helps me write more effectively if I know what people think.  
  
Chapter Two -- The Builder  
  
"Where could he be?" Lucca asked herself, before it dawned on her that she was actually worried about Magus. "He can take care of himself," she said aloud once more for what must have been the seventh time that morning, but something inside of her refused to let it go at that. Magus wasn't as stalwart and cold as he pretended to be, that much was certain. In a moment, she remembered the look on his face when Schala had transported them away from the doomed palace beneath the waves. To spend a lifetime searching for someone, only to be sent away helplessly when they were finally within reach...would that happen to her, if she ever came close enough to retrieve Crono? Would time leave her bitter and cold if she tried to cheat it, as Magus had?  
Wearily she abandoned the inn and braved the cold, at least for a few yards. The blacksmith's house in Truce was close by, and even though she couldn't say for certain, it was her sneaking suspicion that the kindly blacksmith Banta and his wife were, or would be, related to her somehow. Since this whole experience had started, she'd given up trying to keep her tenses straight. The man was ingenious for his time, but Epoch was a perplexing combination of technology from the ancient past and the far-distant future. She doubted if anyone other than Belthasar himself would have been able to fully fathom it.   
For a moment she considered using her time key and traveling through the portal in Truce Canyon, not far away. Belthasar was still alive, in a sense. Before perishing, he copied all his thoughts somehow into one of the many, highly strange creatures known collectively as the 'Nu.' If he was of no help, she still might find her way to Melchior, the old sword smith living near the village of Medina in the present, or to the old man, eternally sleeping beneath a lamp-post in the abyss that was the End of Time. She figured that one did not come to the End of Time accidentally. Whomever he was, he must surely know of the guru Gasper.   
It was a good plan, with every possibility of success. Doing something, anything, would be better than standing over a glowing forge, instructing a man with too little knowledge on how to repair parts that she herself might not ever understand. The problem was her own apathy. As much as she had tried to continually dismiss what Magus had told her, the words echoed inside of her, growing more influential the more she let them rebound.  
"It doesn't matter." She said aloud, causing Banta to raise an eyebrow at her. He hadn't heard what she'd said over the racket he made with his hammer, and she made no move to explain, feeling stupid. The others would have an absolute fit if she went off on her own. Or at least they should. Stranded, without ship or time key, anything that could go wrong probably would - Lucca had long since come to the realization that the world had no intention of playing fair.   
Nonetheless, the idea of Magus out by himself still bothered her. She told himself that it was because his frame of mind was dangerous, and he might decide to hurt himself. Without him, she might not be able to save Crono...  
'Is that really why you're worried?' The other part of her asked. 'Isn't there something that you haven't admitted to yourself yet? Something about him?'   
'No! Stop it!' She thought forcefully. 'Enough of this!' With that she excused herself from Banta's smithy, encouraging him to go ahead and take a break for awhile, and that she would return just as soon as she took care of something.   
"I'll tell Robo what's up, find Magus and bring him with me, then go to Belthasar and fix Epoch." She said, her voice swallowed almost instantly by the whiteness all around her.  
"That pompous jerk," She added with a bit of venom, thinking of all the places Magus might have vanished to. "Thinks he's the only one in the world. Never takes time to think about all the trouble he causes.." Still muttering impotently, she wandered in a generally western direction. Without the key, he would have had no reason to travel north to the canyon, nor would he head to Guardia castle, north and a bit west. Even still, those omissions left a great deal of territory for her to search. "He'll be sorry for this.."  
  
The rail of Zenan bridge was wet with snow, as the sun had broken through enough to make the floorboards hazardous. Any minute now the hole in the clouds above would seal itself and the storm would begin again. Running a finger idly along the relatively new wood, Magus paused a moment.  
It was his army that had smashed the bridge in the first place, leading to the new, more broad one on which he now stood, but the snow cared little over how well the bridge was constructed. In any way possible, it would do its best to foul his feet as he walked, or to chill him.   
'Wherever I go, winter follows. It hunts me, from 12,600 years in the past to now. Schala used to love the snow...'  
For a brief moment, Magus wanted nothing more than to embrace the winter and plunge into the icy tributary below, to forever end his suffering. Rocks glistened in the sun, lurking in the shallows under the bridge, anxious teeth waiting to bite into him.  
'Or, to begin a whole new kind of suffering,' he thought with a shudder, considering the cathedral from whence he had come. In many ways, he was ready to surrender. His life was but one failure after another, with the only end coming far too late, when he was once again alone. Abruptly, his mind formed a picture of the travelers fate had thrust his way. That blasted robot, the Neanderthal who understood nothing, his archrival the frog, the spoiled princess, and the girl...  
The more he considered Lucca, the less appealing the water below became. She would be pleased, if he went ahead and fell, he had little doubt of that. To her he was a nuisance, a sideshow on the way to retrieving the worthless, feckless Crono. But he would show her. Her words in the inn had been crueler than she had known. Was it selfishness that kept him on the search for Schala for so long? Had she been right about him?   
"What ho! Magus! What bringeth thee here? Dusk approacheth."  
For reasons that baffled the mage, Glenn's sudden appearance wasn't altogether unwelcome. Yet it seemed fitting that in his moment of weakness, the man to whom he had brought the most misery would stumble upon him.  
"...leave me be.." He monotoned, not looking away from the water.  
"I thinketh not. The bright lass be looking for thee, though it be my 'pleasure' to find thee first."  
"What does she want?" 'And why would any of you care, for that matter?' he thought, but didn't add.   
"Ask it of her thine self." Glenn's tone was one of equal annoyance. "Perhaps Epoch be repaired. Then Lavos once again hath reason to fear us."   
"Think something like that can feel fear? I doubt if it has any emotions at all."  
"What, perhaps it has much in common with thee after all?"  
A dark glance at the impudent frog was wasted. Glenn had come to stand beside Magus facing the river, though not particularly close, for obvious reasons. Even still, the way Glenn had said it was almost in form of a jest, rather than a personal barb.   
"What are your thoughts, Magus?" Glenn's voice was softer, much more personal now. "Why dost thou stare at the river thus?"  
"Why do you care? I thought you, the brat and the savage were still at the castle. Why did you come here?" He hadn't meant to sound so curt, but the tone by now was customary.  
"The princess remains, true enough, and chief Ayla with her. I find reason to return to my home, in the woods yonder. Since I can yield no help to Lucca on the Epoch, I travel hither, then shall return nigh. As to the reason I hath come..." Glenn's eyes stayed fixed on the horizon. "The lass told of what transpired between her and thou. Perhaps, as thou stands, dwelling in lands and times far away from here, thee knowest, in thine heart, that somewhere she standeth, feeling likewise."  
For a long moment each stood, neither speaking. When the silence was broken, it was by the sound of Glenn's boots on the bridge.   
Realizing their time together was accomplishing little, Glenn had gone. Unsettled and a bit perturbed in more than one way, Magus remained as the light began to fade.  
  
Ollen70: This chapter is short, I know it. But it really has to stand by itself. If I'm lucky, I'll get another chapter up in a few days, now that I know there are people who kind of like it. (Thank you, all you people who reviewed it!) 


	3. The Bearer

Ollen70: You know the drill by now. I don't own Chrono Trigger, or any of the characters contained therein. And just to give fair warning, this section is rated more toward PG-13 than the chapters before it.   
  
If you can't tell on your own, this is where writing this story got a little more difficult. I'd very much appreciate reviews and outside remarks, because I'm not really happy with the way this chapter turned out. If you think you can help me improve it, (If that's even a relative possibility,) then let me know. I'm definitely open to suggestion.   
  
This chapter is stranger than the others before it. I go outside the scope of the game a bit to create the relationship between Lucca and Magus, but not much. Just thought I'd give a 'heads up.'  
  
Chapter Three -- The Bearer  
  
No words. Not one, since he had returned late that night. Ayla had smiled at him as he entered the inn, and he watched her gnaw on a leg of lamb that had been intended as dinner for all of the guests at the inn. He came close to smirking at the sight of her, gravy smeared all over her hands, happily chewing away. Never in eternity would he admit it to anyone, but he liked the prehistoric chief in spite of himself. All those years ago in his childhood, he remembered when Crono, Glenn, and Ayla had come to Enhasa. Ayla's exact words toward him were hazy. She had said something odd about his dear pet, Alfador, then spoke again after he had steeled himself to predict what would happen to one of her party. Again, the words weren't totally clear in his memory. He remembered only that they were kind, as was nearly everything she did.   
From the others, there was no such response. He supposed there might have been, had he stayed downstairs to sup with them. Instead, he was more content to climb the stairs to his room and curl up, facing away from anyone who might come to him. Not that he was expecting anyone to. For all Glenn's orations that Lucca wanted to find him, she hadn't even looked his way when he was near her, waiting for the bartender to bring him a cider and some bread. Something deep inside of him wanted her to speak to him, not just look away, as if there was some disappointing air about him that she couldn't stand to face.   
'Just like her, so damned self-righteous. What else should I have expected?' Assuming this was still about what he had told her the night before, he lay with eyes half-lidded, staring sightlessly at the wall. 'Should I...apologi...what am I thinking?!' He raged mentally. "Since when did Magus of Zeal apologize to anyone?' And that was that. Of the many things Magus was proud to be noted for, his resolve was definitely one of them.  
  
Why did every evening have to end the same way? Lucca prodded the wedge of cheese before her, having no intention of biting into it any time soon. An oily stain spread out beneath it, displaying just how long it had been sitting patiently on the counter. Beside it was her mug of cider. By now it was warm, no longer fizzing pleasantly when she tapped the mug's rim.   
Her thoughts turned once again to the sight of Magus on the bridge. Glenn had advised to her keep her distance.   
"Give him time, dear one." He had told her. "The dark one has much to struggle against."  
'So who doesn't?' Just because she didn't believe she could approach him, she was more than content to watch him from a distance, hoping he might notice her, knowing even to herself how foolish he would think that hope to be, if he'd heard it. It didn't matter. When she saw him, something changed. The steel gray of the sky and the throbbing within her weren't as prominent as they had been, only moments before. His lonely vigil on the bridge was an endearing reminder of the things he strove for, of the things he would seek, and never find.  
'I'm plain to him. Boring, unattractive, boyish.' It didn't matter if he'd directly said any of those things, which he hadn't. All her life she heard them from one boy or another, never given the chance to get closer because of how she appeared. Tonight, however, things might be different.  
  
Magus lay, doing his best not to be interrupted by thought. He found that through his weariness, he had stumbled into a plane where nothing mattered, neither reality or dream. In this state between sleep and reality, he was content to remain for as long as possible, neither denying nor confirming anything. Here there were no expectations, no promises, no failures. Here, all time for once had left him alone, free to simply exist for as long as he could, numb with cold and heartache.  
When the door to the room startled him out of his reverie with its mind-rending creak, he sat up at once, determined to swear out whoever had disturbed him to the absolute best of his ability.  
"Magus?" Thunderstruck, he could only stare dimly at the creature in the doorway. She had Lucca's voice, but that was all.  
  
The stunned mage lying before her, Lucca strode confidently into the room. At least, she projected an air of confidence to the best of her ability. In reality, the long skirt she'd dawned was all that kept the world from knowing how hard her knees shook. Marle, now that she had returned to the inn, had done an excellent job when she heard Lucca's request. At first, the princess had expressed some doubt.  
"Are you insane?!" She'd cried. "All the people in the world and it's Magus you fall for? What on earth has gotten into you?" In spite of the outburst, which carried on for as long as Lucca was within earshot, Marle seemed happy enough as she french-braided Lucca's hair, longer now than anyone might have guessed. Released from her hat, it stretched down easily to the middle of her back.  
  
Watching Lucca step into the light of the room, Magus still hadn't found his voice. Wearing Oranges and yellows that immediately reminded him of the women in Zeal, she shone in the glow of the candles. A faint aura of jasmine and rose exuded from her as she drew closer, standing beside the bed but not sitting.  
"W-what..?" Was all he could think of to say, ashamed that he should be blathering like an idiot at a time when eloquence would be much better received.  
"What have you done to yourself?" he asked at last. Lucca had always been pretty in his eyes, but never quite so feminine. Her beauty came from somewhere else. Unlike Marle, she didn't wear the kind of things one generally associated with a pretty girl, but he was shocked at how a thin girl could become slender, supple, and firm with so little effort.  
Lucca of course didn't know of the thoughts that accompanied his remark, only hearing his words. A shadow crossed her face, but before she could retreat, he turned.  
"I...I apologize.." So halting was his voice that she wondered if he'd ever said those words before. "I..you astonished me, is all."  
Though he couldn't see her smile, Magus felt it. A very light touch landed on his shoulder, perching like a butterfly in its faintness, and he was afraid to move lest he frighten it away. When he spoke, it was with a tincture of regret.  
"Be careful. I've ruined a great many lives. Come too near and I cannot promise yours will not be one of them." 'Much as I'd like to..'  
"Haven't you figured it out by now?" She smiled at his perplexed, somewhat indignant features. "If I'd wanted guarantees, I'd be at home right now, doing my best to convince myself that none of this had ever happened. I don't need reassurance. I don't need someone to tell me that everything'll be alright. I know as well as you do that they probably won't be. But in a way, that's fine."  
"You want a real man who can dedicate his life to you. I can't..."  
"Don't tell me what I want." She sat down, sliding close to him as a tear dropped from his eye. That in itself surprised her. He wasn't whimpering. If not for the tear, she wouldn't have known he was crying.  
"Part of me belongs to someone else. I can't let go of Schala, no matter how hard I try." He dried the tears with the back of his hand like a child, obviously ashamed.  
"She matters to you very much. That's understandable. Crono was like a brother to me, so in some small way, I can relate to you, if you can believe that. The question is, do you want that to be all you have in life? What if we never find either of them? Do we pine our lives away? Or do we just stop looking? If that happens, the pain won't ever leave."   
"Maybe," he said tentatively, after an impossibly long silence," we can keep looking. Maybe clinging to what you love is not weakness after all."  
Moving toward him oh so slowly, she took his hand and brought it close to her. "And maybe we don't have to stop living to do it. Schala won't hate you, you know, if you find you can love someone else. It doesn't mean that you don't care for her just as much."  
In one movement, she kissed him softly. It was not a passionate kiss, nor was it particularly probing and deep. Both waited, expecting the other to pull away. When neither made any move to do so, they moved against each other just a bit, Lucca steeling herself to put her arms around the mage, nearly trembling with relief as he followed suit.  
When he finally broke away, she felt her heart pound as he smiled brightly, the first pure smile she'd ever seen on his face. "I know that now."  
  
Lucca opened her eyes slowly. She couldn't have been asleep for more than an hour or two, after the weariness had overwhelmed them both and they had been forced to part for the sake of sleep. That troubled her, mainly because, in all likelihood, Magus would pretend nothing had happened, and everything she had gained would vanish again. Such was life. With a sad sigh, she nestled under the warm object wrapped around her, coming to her senses in one moment. It was Magus's arm. Letting a smile curve her lips, she touched it tenderly and possessively, letting the emptiness of sleep spiral down on her once again.  
  
It was perhaps an hour later, if even that, when she awoke once again, reaching for her glasses in the dim light. Something had jolted her out of her sleep moments before, and now as she became more fully conscious, she realized what it was. Magus was gone. Slipping a frantic hand under the mattress, she realized that the gate key was no longer in its hiding place. Dressing herself in record time, she was still struggling into her boots as she burst out of the door to the inn, not worrying how many other guests she must have disturbed in her haste.   
The night was thick about her, like the snow around her feet. Instead of falling shrouds of white, the clouds had broken, leaving a mist like a silver veil over the ground. Through this Lucca tore ahead viciously, damning her poor vision as the glasses fogged due to her own breath. Truce canyon lay ahead, silent in the night, prompting Lucca to increase her speed. She ran until her sides ached, her legs threatening to give way. Past frozen cascades and up the rock faces she scrambled, one thought in her mind. Magus had the gate key. What he planned to do with it she didn't know, nor did she care. Given the context of their conversation last night, she was willing to bet that the outcome would not be happy if she weren't able to dissuade him. With a final rush of strength, Lucca scaled the small cliff before her and made for the snowbound clearing, where the gate waited.   
  
'In one moment...' Magus thought dreamily,' everything will change. Every mistake in my life will be amended, or else I will merely die. At any rate, I will end the pain.' Or some of the pain, at least. The sleeping face of Lucca came to his mind, so peaceful, so calm, so...beautiful. In her own way, she was.   
'What am I become?' The scorn was clear, even in his own mind. There were bigger things at stake besides a fleeting moment of weakness. If eternal separation from one girl was the consequence for saving his sister, the soul of his mother, and even that fool Crono, why should he be loath to go ahead...?  
He should have stepped into the gate. There was no reason for him to delay, but his legs were no longer under his control. He stayed stock still, watching the glittering key in his hand with a mixture of wonder and horror. 'God have mercy on me..'  
Before he could make any forward movement, a loud rustling and a strangled cry erupted from the branches around him. Struck from behind by a heavy object, he sprawled helplessly onto the frozen turf. Blindly he lashed out with his magic, decimating a nearby tree with a forked branch of lightning.  
'A disgruntled mystic,' he thought suddenly, glad his scythe was still beside him, easily within reach. Whirling from the ground with all the speed he could muster, he readied the blade for one quick swing, and froze.  
"What's WRONG with you?!" Lucca cried, slapping him in the face with more force than he would have expected from her. Under normal circumstances, he might have just struck her in return. Instead, he was caught and fixed by the hurt, fear, anger, and sorrow that filled her eyes. If it was ever the time to turn and run, he assured himself that now was probably it. He still had the gate key. If he could make it through without her following, his plan might still carry through.  
"Why on Earth do you put me through this?!"  
"What have I 'put you through?'" He asked, hoping to sound haughty but only managing to be vaguely sheepish. He knew what she meant, and once again it saddened him to see her. Still, his purpose was greater than these feelings, regardless of how strong they were. Magus braced himself for another outburst, but none came. Lucca just stood there, shrugging slightly.  
"If you didn't ever really care..."  
"You don't understand." He started hurriedly, crimson eyes locked obstinately on his bark and soot covered boots.  
"Well, you haven't been much help in that area." Her tone was waspish. Even without looking, he could tell she wore a trenchant expression. "I'm not a mind reader, after all."  
"Then listen, for once!" Didn't she understand that it was hard enough for him to vocalize this without her deriding him at every turn? Finally daring an upward glance, he saw her shock and began to feel ashamed. Rather than let it show, he let his plan flow from his mouth, for once not caring if it was eloquently worded or mixed with the right amount of bitterness.  
"You were going to do WHAT?"  
"Are you always this daft?" He asked sharply, annoyed in spite of himself. "Once I reached 65,000,000 B.C., I will cast the summoning spell again, and call Lavos to the surface. When he comes, I had planned to use this," here he held up the gate key, "once Belthasar and Gasper, if I find him, help me modify it, I might be able to turn Lavos's gates back on him. If I can destroy him that far in the past, this future will no longer exist." 'And Schala and Crono will be alive,' he added silently.   
Eyes wide, Lucca only stared for a long while.   
"You were going to destroy yourself for us?"  
"Not 'destroy,' really. If Lavos is gone, then our futures will change, as I said. None of us will ever meet." 'I will never enchant Glenn, kill Cyrus, wage war on the humans here, or meet you, Lucca.'  
"You can't do that." Her hand took the gate key from his gently, tucking it back in her pocket. He supposed he should have fought her for it, but couldn't quite bring himself to.   
'I could kill her.' He thought plaintively. 'If this works, she would be born again and live her life without the agony Lavos has brought her.'  
"Think for a moment, Janus." Like a snowflake falling gently, her hand floated toward his face as if it were one of many potential and equally opportune destinations. "What if it were to go wrong? Man was never meant to manipulate time the way we have. To fold Lavos within his own gate...It could destroy the world." Her voice was softer now, more caring than he would have thought possible. From her eyes he could tell that she was equally taken aback, but matters of dignity, at least between the two of them, were of less importance moment by moment. " I know why you meant to do it. Just because you can't, it doesn't make the thought any less important."  
"Yes it does." He replied, inclement as usual.  
"Think that if you want.."  
"If you tell them any of this," he waved in the general direction of the inn, "I'll deny it. And then..."   
"Don't worry. I'm not cruel." With that she leaned in and stole a quick kiss, smiling at the look of absolute shock he gave her, eyes impossibly wide. As a thin, initially unnoticeable smile grew, she leaned into him again.  
  
Standing there near Magus, waiting for his hesitant yet inevitable embrace, she let herself consider exactly what was taking place. All that she'd learned came immediately to the front of her mind, assuring her that whatever his full intentions had been, forgetting her had never been one of them. Since they were alone, she took another risk and pulled him close, the two of them heading slowly back down the slopes toward the village where the odd candle still burned. 


	4. The Keeper

Chrono Trigger and the characters contained therein do not belong to me. They are the property of the 'Squaresoft' company. However, if you feel like stealing any of the parts throughout the chapters that are obviously original, then God bless you and I'm very flattered. Just ask first, okay? Or better yet, e-mail me and I'll help you come up with cool, original stuff.  
  
Ollen70: Okay people, we're getting into the home stretch. Parts of this chapter are geared toward people who may not have played the game and don't know exactly what the Chrono Trigger is. The dialogue between Gaspar and the group isn't exactly word for word, because I did it off the top of my head, but I know it's pretty close. There's a little bit of original stuff thrown into that nice long speech too, just for fun..  
  
Chapter Four -- The Keeper  
  
Lucca rolled over half awake, struggling to sit up. The bed, with it's clean white sheets and consuming warmth had such a strong hold on her that she eventually gave up and sank back into it's folds. The room was bright with daylight now, which was hardly surprising. Magus still lay beside her, his bare chest and shoulders illuminated by the first rays of the sun from the clear sky. Running a hand along his back, she marveled at the perfection of his form for the thousandth time. Except now, she could express those thoughts to him without fear of him cursing her somehow.  
His skin was soft and warm, not as cold or as pale as one might expect at first. Even from behind, she could feel the steady, rhythmic pounding of his heart as it beat. 'I could play the piano to that,' She thought hazily, pulling close to him and resting her head in the space between his neck and shoulder. He sighed quietly, his breathing ragged for a moment before settling back into the cadence she was used to.  
Much to her astonishment, Magus had been skittish at first once they had returned to the room. Her hands were foreign to him, so much so that he drew himself away and seemed very small, delicate almost. She barely kept herself from commenting to that effect. He had been raised in the company of monsters and, to her knowledge, had never been near a woman before his return visit to Zeal. Of course her touch must frighten him. It was an odd thing for her to realize, but the affectionate touch of another human must have been a very strange sensation. Still, Lucca was content to lay beside him as long as she could. By his side, she felt safe.   
  
Magus lay in the sanctuary provided by the clean sheets of the bed, unwilling to release the ragged edges of his dreams and awaken. Waking would mean dealing with the many disappointments he had doubtlessly caused the night before. Passion was a thing that he was unaccustomed to, and not quite anxious to attempt. His reluctance was to himself as despicable as it was endearing to Lucca, who held him close just the same. Any other reaction would have shamed him further. As it was, the protective shell he kept around himself was beginning to shatter. Spending a night wrapped helplessly in the arms of a beautiful young girl was more than sufficient to plunge him into a spiral of self-doubt.  
Lucca, once again defying any previous assumption he could have formed, dealt with his shame with a gentle grace that was far-reaching and striking, even for her. She stroked his hair in a way that should have made him feel more uncomfortable. In fact it did at first. Hoping to remedy this, he turned toward her and brought her even closer, reveling in her scent and her touch, but more than anything in the clarity her eyes afforded him. Planting gentle kisses along her neck and shoulders, he lulled her into an eventual sleep with his care.  
  
Two days later, the group stood before the Epoch. The storm, dormant since Magus's attempt to enter the gate, had picked up with more fury than ever, though it was barely noticed by anyone who stood before the newly repaired time machine now. Lucca, with Robo's help, had managed to locate the crossed wires a day ago. With that, she sent Marle, Ayla, and Glenn through the gate to question the Nu that was Belthasar on how they might repair the problem. That in itself was an interesting ordeal, as Marle was forced to take extremely fastidious notes on the instructions Belthasar gave. Lucca almost wished she could have spared Robo to make the journey. Being a robot, remembering word for word what the Guru said wouldn't have been particularly difficult.   
Lucca polished the glass dome one last time from the inside, glad to finally be done with the precarious work of upgrading the instrument panel. She unrolled a scrap of paper that had been in her pocket and read the cramped, spidery writing on it one last time.  
'In addition to Marle's general notes, I've included schematics on how you might combine the Epoch with that peculiar Gate Key you've managed to construct. If my calculations are accurate, it might stabilize the warp and keep the Epoch in a better state of repair as it travels from era to era. Good luck to you. I'm sure I'll see you soon.'  
Wondering exactly what he meant by the last line, she held the gate key to the new ignition in the Epoch, delighted with herself at the success of the modifications. Before she could use it, however, she, Marle, and Magus would escort Ayla, Glenn, and Robo to the end of time and then follow them there in the Epoch. The 'Old Man' was long overdue for some company.  
  
The initial arrival at the End of Time was not particularly eventful. As always, the quaint square with it's iron railings, arbitrary collection of buckets and lone lamp post was picturesque against the swirling mists of time all around that resembled nothing so much as the ocean on a calm day. The old man dozed contentedly against the post, oblivious to the arrival of the three, or the others that were coming from the northern section of the square and the pillars of light that connected to fixed points in time.  
"Wha...What's this, then?" The man murmured when Marle gently jogged his arm. He started at first, then grinned sleepily at her. "Oh, hello, my dear. Now tell me," here he wiped his eyes carefully on the sleeve of the long, brown jacket he always wore and straightened the matching bolder hat, "What is your reason for interrupting the slumber of a tired old man? What news do you have, of late?"  
At first Marle said nothing, only blinking furiously as her eyes grew swollen and red. Steadying her friend with her hand, Lucca conducted her to the comforting, if not startled, arms of Magus. Having done that, she explained as quickly and painlessly as she could the events that brought them to the End of Time.  
"I'm so sorry to hear that," the old man said quietly, as a sad tune began to play. "This is terrible news. Unfortunately, that is the way of things. From the moment one is born, an inevitable march toward death begins. Whether it takes a single year, or one hundred times as many, no life in complete without that final seal of the heavens." Quiet for a moment, he reached up and straightened his hat once again. "I'm afraid all I can give you is this song. It's called 'Memories of Crono.'"  
For a long time no one could find the heart to break the spell of the little song. Staring at her feet with blurred vision, Lucca felt the last bit of confidence break away to dust. Though Magus discreetly reached for and clasped her hand reassuringly, it did little to comfort her.   
'And now you know.' She thought miserably. 'You know exactly how he feels, leaving Schala behind. I wish I'd been easier on him.'  
"We're looking for the Guru of Time. Have you seen him?" Marle asked at last, hope all too evident through her tears.  
"Well, I've heard of him, of course.." came the almost gruff reply. "I'm sure most everyone has. What do you want with him, if I may be so bold as to ask?"  
"He knows how to bring back Crono."  
For a long moment the man was silent, apparently touched by Marle's words. He touched her face kindly, but there was little encouragement in his eyes.  
"To bring back lost loved ones...That's what everyone wants. Crono must be proud, to have friends like you." And that was that. The song played on sadly, causing Lucca's eyes to sting with tears. The Old man didn't plan to help. There was nothing left for them here.   
"Hey." The old man called as they turned to go. "Here. Take this with you." He held out a beautiful golden egg that Marle took carefully. Even from a distance Lucca could see from the graceful curve, swirls of jet black, and bright sparkle of the shell that it was more than it seemed.   
"An egg? Is it hardboiled or 3-minute?" Her levity elicited a stray smile across the man's weathered face.  
"Let us call that the Chrono Trigger. It is pure potential. By unleashing a specific course of events, it can have a powerful effect on time. Ask the one who made Epoch, your Wings of Time, how to hatch it. Like any egg, it represents a possibility. It may, or may not, hatch. But the Chrono Trigger gives you the potential to get your friend back. The egg will have an effect equal to the effort you put into your search. No more, and no less. Don't forget that. As long as you keep Crono in your heart, the day you are dreaming of shall arrive."  
Turning to Magus, the man's smile grew. "Hey. I haven't seen you in awhile. You've become much more formidable, yes?"  
"....?" Magus gave him a long, searching look. "I get it now. It's you, isn't it?"  
"Wait a minute. Are you Gaspar, the Guru of Time?"   
Shifting uncomfortably, the man looked toward the lamp-post against which he leaned. "Um, well..I believe that's what they used to call me, ages ago..."  
  
This time the boiling sense of hope was so strong within Lucca that she thought she might sing out of sheer relief. Never before had she felt so light, able to walk on air if anyone were to ask it of her. The tasks set before her, Marle, and Magus by the Nu incarnation of Belthasar were completed almost before he told them what must be done. Once they'd won a Crono clone from Norstein Bekkler at the Millennial Fair, they returned once more to the bleak, broken down ruin that was the keeper's dome.   
Walking in behind Marle, Magus caught her arm before she stepped over a twisted support beam.   
"Too much hope is as dangerous as total despair." He whispered in the dim light, checking to be sure Marle was too far ahead to overhear anything distinct. "And if you aren't careful, it will lead you into the same places. Yes, we have the means to retrieve Crono. But that doesn't mean for certain that we will."  
After that she'd become angry with him. How could he dare have the gall to tell her that? Didn't he think she'd told herself that already? Was he jealous? Did he think that once Crono was back, she wouldn't need him anymore? She expressed these sentiments as completely as she could in a hushed, hurried tone, mixed with language a lady probably shouldn't have used.  
"Keep denying the truth, if you think it best to do so. You will learn to your dismay that I know much of what I speak" His eyes were hard again, cold and as distant as if she'd struck him. He stormed away toward the sealed doorway Marle was opening with the power of her pendant, now that it had been charged in the distant past. It occurred to her that what she had done was likely much worse, but in the moment she couldn't bring herself to accept it, or to remedy it.  
  
Ollen70: Sorry about this. I'd meant to actually finish the story in this chapter, but I guess I just got carried away. If any of you are interested, the content in the first few chapters has been changed a little. Now, it makes more sense (at least I hope it does.) The next chapter should be up relatively soon. I'll try to have it up by tomorrow, but this last part's been pretty hard to write. Thanks again for reading this. You're my hero! Or you will be, if you review... : ) 


	5. The Loneliest Places

Ollen70: And so we're here! The last chapter. For the last time, none of these characters belong to me. Whoever does own them is probably very rich, because they're very cool creations, and the people who invented them should be proud.  
  
Chapter Five -- The Loneliest Places...  
  
Magus had been many places in his lifetime, seen many things, but the landscape before him was a different thing. The death peak incline had a stunning grade. Even with his particular skills, he knew better than to deny how difficult this endeavor was going to be. Belthasar had warned them as much when he told them that the time had come for them to attempt the peak of Life and Death. Upon it, they might find the means to right one of Lavos's wrongs. Three figures had been laid before them as they'd approached the Nu, but they had vanished in a crackle of power before Magus could discover anything about them. Long ago, in the keeps of Kajar, in the magical kingdom of Zeal when it had sill floated in the sky, Magus kept a childhood memory of a similar figure, perched in one of Belthasar's many secret rooms. The difference was that it was placed there by the true Belthasar, not this imitation. Whether the figures could help them, he did not know. Skepticism was too much a part of him to leave him be now.  
"And so I risk myself anyway, over the mere fate of a boy." Whispering it, even to the mementos of the daylight in this forsaken place made him feel much more like himself. If that was a good thing, he wasn't sure.   
So much had changed in nine simple days. His entire world, as small as it was, seemed on the verge of shattering once more. Lucca, the first person to see into his world now wouldn't look at him. Perhaps once Crono was restored, she might forget him all at once.  
"What nonsense, losing myself because of a girl." He muttered under the roar of the wind. "I, the most powerful mage still living? I have business with the remnants of the old world, with the creature that took Schala from me." It wasn't lost on him that this new sense of purpose was derived almost solely on the woman he had alienated with one simple sentence. A single snowflake out of the swirling blizzard around them landed on his vest, near the shoulder. Usually, when the force of the wind was so strong, the individual flakes didn't retain their shape. This one was perfect still, unmelting under his even gaze.   
_'Sometimes the most beautiful things last only for a second.'_ If Lucca's affection for him was one of those brief articles, it indeed was a shame. He had regained a very small, almost insignificant piece of his humanity. It was new, untried, and he wasn't willing to part with it. And yet, he knew that even if it were the case, she had given him all he needed to recover once again. Lavos would die, whether or not Crono could be found again. He could make that his goal again, without fear that his soul would be lost once more. Janus, if only a minuscule part of him, was alive again. Eyes on the obstacles before him, he took his first shuffling steps up the slope, feeling like an infant.   
He knew, at last, why he stepped forward. It wasn't for Crono. It wasn't even for Lucca, much as he might have liked it to be. He had a great deal to do penance for. If he could never find Schala, at least he could give something back to her memory. He could become human for her, once more.   
_'And if I cannot overcome the blackness of this darkest night, at least shall I endure it.' _It was an old quote his mother used to repeat to him every night before he went to sleep, so he wouldn't be afraid of the dark and cry out for her. In the following days, after the Mammon machine had taken the love out of her, his sister had carried on the tradition, adding only that '_Night, in all it's terror, is only terrible because we believe we must face it alone.'_ He didn't know if it was actually part of the quote. He told himself often that it wasn't that those words were hers only, given to him like the amulet he wore about his neck.  
Taking a deep breath, he felt his magic fill his veins again reassuringly, an ebony tide to flood through him whenever he might need it. It had come at no easy price. Unlike all the inhabitants of Zeal, he was not born with magic. The Black Wind, the invisible force of prophecy surrounded him so thickly that even the Gurus had been wary of him, but all of his more evident powers had been born out of the Old Tomes, in the darkness of the middle ages when loneliness so goaded him that revenge on the beast known as Lavos became his only goal. How fitting that his anguish would bring about the genesis of such fearsome power. Kindness and peace certainly wouldn't have yielded such results.  
Sometimes he wondered what Schala might think if she could see him now. She was such a gentle soul... Did she know the truth, that he had been the disguised prophet? Could she feel the Black Wind about him? He knew she had that ability, though while he was there in the past, she hadn't said anything to make him suspect that she knew.   
Even in the past, shadow was easily equated with evil. Darkness, doom, and despair went hand in hand. The wielders of shadow were impossibly powerful, able to manipulate a force that was far from virtuous. And yet here he was, using his strength to save life instead. Indeed the world was full of odd twists.  
  
Standing next to Magus, Lucca felt instead as if she were more than a lifetime away. His eyes, at first unequivocal, frozen spheres of fire, had taken on an ephemeral, dreamy appearance. She considered speaking to him, dismissing it when the dreaminess grew deeper. It wasn't likely he'd hear her anyway. Wherever he was, her company was apparently not something he coveted. All at once he was dangerous again, more so to her than to anyone else.   
It all seemed so strange. Had there ever been any care for her inside of him? If there was, did she destroy it already, when it had scarce emerged from the snows of the past? Could there be anything between them now, after what had happened? How stupid! she berated herself. How stupid to let something so small, so foolish ruin what they could have had. Magus spent his life wondering what might have been, had he acted differently, and now she supposed she would do the same.  
In a second, the warm, caring man she'd begun to uncover was gone. it was a dream that she might be with him, and little more. Now, there were more pressing matters at hand. A little ways up the incline, a small furry doll sat silently amidst the vengeful storm. It was white with pointed ears, large, compelling eyes, and a faint blue glow that surrounded it completely.  
"Walk when the wind dies down..." A tiny, child-like voice called happily. "Hide behind trees when it blows..."  
"But there ARE no trees on the slope!" Marle called, frustrated. "What do you mean?!"  
"Have faith..." The little voice replied. "Without it, you should not attempt the peak. Without it, everything will be in vain..." With that it vanished, and the eerie glow pierced the sanguine darkness. From out of the air, three trees appeared, stretching from the ground as if decades of growth were suddenly compounded into a single instant. Behind Lucca, Magus stooped for a moment, rising when the gale began to abate. Not daring to turn and pay attention to what he was doing, she kept her eyes on where the furry creature had been. "This will be the simplest of your trials. Not for nothing is it called Death Peak."  
"Now!!" He called, charging forward recklessly. Lucca did her best to stay in step with him, but to no avail. No sooner had she reached the second tree than the wind renewed itself, blasting her with icy fury. Shielding her face with her arms, she unwittingly broke her grip on the tree branch, sliding back down the slope helplessly. Gripped by a strong hand, she squinted at Magus. Marle, with both legs wrapped around the tree, leaned over backwards and held Magus desperately by his ankles. He in turn had wrapped himself in his cloak and slid across the icy turf to her, throwing his arms about her waist.   
"Don't worry..." He said softly, resolute. "I have you. You're safe." When the wind showed signs of slackening, he released his hold so quickly one would think her touch had burned him.   
"No time to lose..."  
  
After the initial climb came obstacles of a more arduous sort. The bluffs they glanced up at now were narrow and coated with snow, approachable only by small chinks in the rock faces barely large enough to serve as hand and foot holds. Monsters lurked just out of sight above each bluff, waiting for a new victim to begin the climb before attacking. For this reason, Magus led the way forward. His magic, he reasoned, was superior to the power of the other two. He had proven in the few monster encounters they'd had before starting the climb that he could cast spells both faster and more effectively than either Marle or Lucca. Ice, Fire, and Lightning gave him a versatility that the other two lacked.  
"I'm sorry I wasn't kinder to him." Marle whispered sheepishly after Magus had reduced two egg-like monsters to ash. "We wouldn't have been able to accomplish any of this without him. Maybe he isn't so bad after all."   
"I'll remind you that you said that."   
Whirling around, Marle faced the Sorcerer.   
"Huh?" Lucca couldn't help but smile at the princess's abashed expression. "I...uh, hadn't we better get going?"  
"Agreed." Came his reply. "We can't afford to waste daylight here." Neither found reason to argue with this remark. Snow was falling more quickly, adding to the treachery of the peak. The surroundings were beautiful in the way a sword is beautiful. One can't forget its nature, no matter how they admire it.  
  
Two hours and much toil later, they stood before the yawning mouth of a cavern, eaten by wind and rain into the living rock. Into this abyss the three went slowly, Magus first. Both his hands glowed with magic, illuminating a small circle around them but keeping the rest of their surroundings in darkness. Magus walked forward confidently, jolted from his concentration by an arm. The light flickering, he rounded on Lucca, the one responsible.  
"What in the name of..!!" Before he could finish, she clamped her hand to his lips and held it there tightly.   
"Don't you hear that?" Her breath was so slight he could barely hear her. "It sounds like...like some sort of ..." She didn't need to say another word. He knew that sound, and it chilled his blood more the sight of his sister in the dying Ocean palace.  
"It's...Lavos..."  
"NO!!" Throwing her arms open, Lucca's magic surged in one bright flash. The fire she possessed filled all corners in one second, revealing a hideous creature only feet away. Like the dreaded Lavos, it was a mass of long quills that were each a meter long or more. A clicking beak opened underneath, shining sickeningly in the now-blinding light. This was not the great Lavos, however. Whatever it was, it was much too small.  
Filled only with the blinding rage he had ever carried for the horrible beast that had cursed his life, Magus gripped his scythe in white hands. Flinging both Marle and Lucca to the side, he swung ferociously at the armored hide of the monstrosity, bracing himself for a rush of blood and some sort of retaliation. Instead, the blade rebounded in his hand harmlessly. Rounding on him, the quills fired at him like cannon shells, tearing into his shoulder.   
He fell heavily, not certain whether he'd screamed. Panic welled inside of him. Instead of living to exact the retribution his loved ones demanded, he would die here, in a lonely cave in a forgotten corner of the future. His eyes began to cloud. There were indistinct noises around him, but he paid them little mind.  
_'My dear Schala...I...I'm...s..so..sorry....'_  
How long he lay in this near-death, he didn't know. Time was punishing him once more, drawing out his suffering as much as possible. His death was inevitable, but instead of being delivered quickly and mercifully, he was to languish in it. When he thought he could endure no more, he was aware of a bottle at his lips. Swallowing instinctively, he made to brush it aside, disturbed by a sudden chill that threatened to swallow him.  
A rain-streaked window flying open, his vision was immediately clear. What he saw before him, however, gave him considerable pause. A giant block of ice was suspended in the air. Marle stood defending him, her hair streaming out behind her by the currents of air her spell created. There was something odd here. He must have underestimated her skill, if she could muster the concentration to hold the glacier so effortlessly in the sky, allowing it to absorb the needles that the Lavos-like incarnation rained down upon them.  
'Lucca, hurry..!" The urgency in Marle's voice forced him to reconsider his previous thoughts. Blanching, for the first time he saw the girl in her cap and glasses kneeling at his side.   
"Magus..? Are you okay? Please be alright..!"  
"I..." Had it not been so urgent that he regain his feet, he would have marveled at the concern with which she spoke his name. _'She...was I wrong, after all?'_  
"Magus? Magus! You need this..!" Into his open hands, bruised now from the blade of his own scythe when it rebounded, she pressed a shining rock of jet black.   
"What..?"  
"All I know, is that you need it."   
It wasn't necessary for her to say any more. The rock, or whatever it was, pulsed with a veritable plethora of magic. Before any other thoughts could form, he threw his arms wide on impulse.  
"Out of the far reaches of both time and space, may my enemies be made powerless." The voice wasn't his. It came from his throat, but it didn't belong to him. Whatever had caused him to speak now began to flood him with magic. Beside him, both girls pulsed with light. Marle, surrounded in the twinkle of sunlight through ice to his left, and Lucca, flashing like torchlight to his right. Both took his outstretched hands.  
"From us, may we drive out all of the Dark, Eternal!!"  
  
The second Poyozo doll blinked at them when the approached.   
"You faced the spawn of Lavos." It said simply, in its innocent voice. "There are more of them, but now that you know how to fight what you face, victory is a more simple matter. To this Magus frowned, glancing at his bloodied tunic and quailing slightly. If not for the bottled elixir Lucca had forced him to take, it was quite likely the battle would have ended for him then and there. He cast a sidelong glance at her. Somehow during the course of the battle, something had managed to score into her cheek, just below her eye. An angry trail of red reached across her face, dripping her essence into the snow. She didn't notice him yet. It troubled him that she bled. Not sure what he could accomplish, he held his fingers close to the wound. He had no healing powers. _'This was simply an exercise in futility,_' he thought. _'She'll think I'm a fool...'_  
_'_I_ know why you meant to do it. Just because you can't, it doesn't make the thought any less important.' _Where he'd heard the words before, he couldn't say.   
  
As a tickle crossed Lucca's cheek, she brushed it with her hand absentmindedly. Far below them, across the land bridge that they stood on, a sad relic that must have once been a great city stood, marked with broken spires and piles of wreckage. This future was definitely a bleak, uncaring place. More than ever, she knew they had no choice but to try and fix this, to destroy Lavos before he could obliterate any bright ambition humanity might engineer.  
Her hand came back clean. It must have been a snowflake, she told herself. Magus stood beside her, fingers pointing at her, his eyes incredibly wide.  
"Is something the matter?" She asked him, perplexed.  
"N..no..."  
"Be careful here." The child's voice broke in. "The ground is slippery here. Fall," below they could see the cave they'd entered, "and you'll have to start again." In a flicker, it was gone as well.  
  
As the figure had promised, another of the so-called Lavos spawn appeared after they'd crossed the Isthmus. Again, the strange spell made possible by the black rock Magus still clutched took care of it in short order. A hint by the third of the Poyozo dolls helped them dispatch another, much stronger spawn near the summit of Death Peak. Now, the three of them huddled on a small ledge from the wind while they rebuilt their strength. Whatever waited for them up one final rise, it was in their very best interest to be prepared.  
"Magus..." Lucca called to him quietly. He turned, trying not to disturb Marle, who dozed on his shoulder. She felt her head slump forward beyond her control. She hadn't counted on the cold to bite into her so deeply. That, coupled with the weariness she felt from the previous battle nearly caused her to fall. Her body was leaden, so hard to maneuver correctly. Even looking up toward him took all the strength she could muster.  
"Everything's so...so hard..." She sighed, dropping to the ledge.   
"Lucca?" His figure whirled and twisted in front of her eyes. She closed them on impulse. Just that fast, she was back in Kajar, the magic city in the Kingdom of Zeal. In a small room lit by a candelabra and one impossible window that channeled sunlight from somewhere, even though the room was in the center of the city, cut off from any source of natural light.  
This was a memory, true enough. Nothing about it was real. Outside of herself, she drifted freely while she watched a ghostly representation of herself kneel before a small, white doll on the tiles of the floor. Its big, button eyes smiled hopefully at her other self. In her hands, it melted away to become a black rock, rimmed in gold. The treasure of the Guru of reason...  
Light flashed through her body. In a horribly painful jolt, she found herself sprawled uncomfortably on the ledge, still lost in the reeling storm. Magus held his hand at her face. In her mouth a glimmering item lingered, spreading a delicious feeling of repose through her deadened limbs. In a disenchanted moment, she remembered where she was and what had happened.  
"A power tab." Magus told her, sounding vaguely self-satisfied. "I found it when we began the climb. It should give you enough of a boost, for now. It seems, combined with a bit of magic, that you're on the mend."  
"Magic?" She asked, still a little disoriented. "Since when do you have that kind of magic?" Kajar hadn't been real, even when it had been a physical place. The peace there was too transient to have any place in her life. The only thing that was right in this place was that he was there, even if things were different now. But the look in his eyes gave her the impression that the past was just the past. If Magus had learned that much in the last few days, it was a powerful lesson. One that she was beginning to learn herself.  
He shook his head, obviously as confused as she was.  
"However it happened, I'm certainly glad to have it. After what happened earlier, it seems I owed you."  
"Magus..."  
"Don't." He replied. "There isn't any need." Instead of sorrow, he spoke with kindness. "Are we so broken by hardships that we let a few feeble words drive us apart? My dear, there is something within you, something that I've only seen in one other person in the years I've walked the Earth. If..if you care for me, even but a little.."  
Her fingers on his lips stopped whatever he had meant to say. The ardent flame within her eyes, the approach of her lips drove all intentions from him. He leaned forward to meet her, content. Even if what lay before them meant death or worse, he was ready to face it. Lucca was worth dying for. She was worth everything he could give her, and more than that. The kiss continued for a period of time interminable to him. Maybe this was time's way of telling him that they weren't enemies after all. Be patient, it whispered reassuringly to his heart. Whatever is taken away is given back in due course, though usually not in the same form. You come here to ask a great favor of time. And you have paid for it well. The last step lies before you. Are you loath to embrace your fate?  
'_Yes, of course I am.' _He woke Marle carefully, helping her to her feet. _'But fear isn't an excuse for me anymore. I'm coming for you, Lavos.'_  
  
The summit of Death Peak stretched before them with the perfection of a landscape taken straight from heaven. Above them, an orange glow from a half-dead sun bathed the ruins of the world in a pale light. No snow fell here. A tall, twisted tree grew from the rocks and ice, its buds frozen forever, never to bear the promise of a spring. It was toward this tree the three now faced. Marle stood ahead with the Chrono Trigger cupped lovingly in her hands. Magus took it as she offered it to him, holding it high above him in one hand while the other squeezed Lucca's.  
"From the Angels who guard throughout the night and stand fast against the coming darkness, I ask temperance, fortitude, and mercy. May we be strong." And there, chilled by the wind of time itself, the Earth waited.  
  
Ollen70: Not a clean, tidy ending, by any means, but somehow it feels better that way. If you don't agree, I always welcome pointers. I'll start a new fic sometime soon. It'll probably be based around Tactics Ogre; The Knight of Lodis. Don't worry if you've never heard of it before. I'll write it in a way that takes that into account. Hope you've had as much fun reading this as much as I did writing it. Thanks again.  



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